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nTranslator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

nXue Sheng fell into a short trance when he heard this.

nHe had been astonished when Xue Xi had obtained first in the level the previous time. However, after inquiring more at the orphanage, he found this to be a normal occurrence.

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nThat was because Xue Xi had been learning on her own after she graduated from Middle School.

nStill, other than talent, one still needed to be hardworking for competitions like the Mathematical Olympiad. No matter how smart Xixi was, she had been back for only half a month, so how could she possibly get good results there?

nHe patted Ye Li’s shoulders. While sighing, he also chided himself internally, If we had not lost the child back then, she would have been the brightest star among her generation.

nWhile the two were speaking, the old patriarch suddenly walked over with his hands behind his back. The old patriarch said to Xue Sheng, “Come over.”

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nXue Sheng quickly followed behind him. “What’s wrong, Dad?”

nThe old patriarch looked at him and asked, “Have you received any news about that Lu Chao?”

nXue Sheng shook his head.

nThe other frowned at this. “Put more effort into looking again.”

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n“Yes.”

n…

nAs usual, Xue Xi alighted at the provision store and held hands with Xiang Huai after breakfast.

nRecently, the length of time they needed to hold hands was getting longer by the day. It had already been two minutes today and she still felt a dull pain in her heart.

nJust as she was feeling the internal changes in herself, Xiang Huai leaned against the table and supported his head with his other free arm. “Little kid, don’t you think this is a waste of time?”

nHis low voice was exceptionally sexy and alluring.

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nXue Xi paused for a moment, then said, “So?”

nXiang Huai’s lips turned up slightly. In that instant, it felt as though all the light in the room was aggregating on his face. His sharp and defined features even seemed to be sparkling and filled with enticement. “I have a method that can resolve this quickly and easily. Do you want to hear it?”

nXue Xi instantly understood what he wanted to say next. She hurriedly avoided his gaze and coolly answered, “…No.”

nHer reserved and cold attitude did not anger him. Instead, the man chuckled. His laughter seemed to turn tangible as it encompassed her heart and made her throat run dry.

nHe asked, “Why?”

nHalf a beat later, Xue Xi answered, “I know what you want to say.”

nHe raised an eyebrow. “So do you want to do it with your boyfriend?”

nXue Xi frowned and considered it, and, as though she had made a decision, she said, “…Fine.”

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nXiang Huai was stunned.

nLittle kid is really agreeing to kiss and hug me?

nRight after thinking this, he saw her reach out with her other hand. “Come. If we hold both hands together, it should be faster by two times.”

n“…”

nAfter a full five seconds, Xiang Huai burst out laughing.

nWhy is my little kid this cute?

nXue Xi did not wait for his reply and stood up. “Today is done. We shall try again tomorrow.”

nShe picked up her bag and exited out the door in her loosely-fit uniform.

nAfter she had left, Xiang Huai’s smile slowly dissipated and he became cold and taciturn.

n…

nJust as Xue Xi walked through the school entrance, her sight was instantly colored in red. Flame Number One to Seven and Qin Shuang were all squatting at the entrance. Seven bright red-heads were a grand sight, while Gao Yanchen leaned against a tree at the side with his head lowered while he played games on his phone.

nThe students passing by were so frightened that they jumped aside when they saw them.

nOld Liu passed by them in his old bicycle and stopped when he spotted them, shouting, “You can’t have dyed hair according to school rules. Gao Yanchen, go bring the rest of them and dye it back.”

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nGao Yanchen ignored him, though.

nFlame Number One said, “Old Liu, we are not in your class anyway, so don’t bother yourself about us.”

nOld Liu persuaded, “As long as you guys are students, I have to speak…”

nHe was just about to go on a long tirade when Flame Number One spotted Xue Xi. His eyes lit up instantly. “Sister Xi!”

nInstantly, the eight people plus Gao Yanchen stepped out and moved toward Xue Xi.

nThe girl was a little confused. “Why are you guys here?”

nQin Shuang slung her arm with hers. “Today is the day when the results of the Math Star Competition come out. We came to back you up!”

nBrother Chen had already told them that they had to escort Xue Xi to school, just in case people would speak nonsense and make her comfortable after the results were released. With them there, even if others wanted to mock her, they would have to swallow their own words!

nBeside them, Old Liu got off his bicycle when he heard this. He pushed his bike in Xue Xi’s direction. The man, in his forties, had dark skin due to prolonged sun exposure. He said, “Xue Xi, take it easy. Results do not represent anything, and the Math Star is just a normal competition that can only be used as practice. The truly important one is the National Mathematics Competition. Since it’s almost September, it is also about to start.”

nXue Xi: “…Oh.”

nWhy is everyone claiming that I’m nervous? I really am not.

nShe felt that her results should be decent.

nForget it. The results are coming out soon anyway, so I shall not speak much on it.

nThe group of people grandly entered the school compound. Everyone who saw them en route kept their distance, and the group of people who came to gloat did not dare come up to speak to her.

nJust like this, Xue Xi was escorted into her classroom and peacefully finished two periods of classes.

nDuring the break, at exactly 10 AM, the result of the Math Star Competition came out!

nXue Xi finished her exercises on the school field, and by the time she strolled back to the classroom, it was exactly 10 AM.

nOld Liu was already there, and a group of people was crowding around Fan Han. They were all staring at the application on his phone, where he was checking his results. “Hurry, see how you scored! Did you key in the correct examination ID number?”

nFan Han nodded, then clicked on the search button. His score immediately popped out: 212.

n“Wow!”

n“That’s high! This gets First Prize for sure!”

n“Yes. The First Prize for last year is a minimum of 180 marks and the first in the province is only 224. This year’s questions are apparently harder, so Fan Han is confirmed to be in the top ten! That’s amazing!”

n“…”

nXue Yao stood beside Fan Han proudly with a wide smile. Her gaze swept over Xue Xi, and she pretended to ask in concern, “Cousin, how many marks did you get?”

nThe latter could not be bothered with her. She walked back to her seat with her head lowered. She was just about to pick up her phone, wanting to check her results, when a foreign number called in.

nShe paused for a moment, then answered it. “Hello.”

nThe other party hurriedly asked, “Is this Xue Xi? I am from the student admission office of Bin City University. I saw your results in the Math Star Competition. By the usual protocol, this is a non-official competition and will not be added to your results for college application. However, our Mathematics Department is willing to make an exception for you. Are you interested?”

nXue Xi paused for two seconds and said, “…Not interested.”

nBin City University was also one of the top schools, belonging to the 985 and 211 calibers. However, her aim was the capital’s Huaxia University, and this aim had never changed.

nThe other party persistently persuaded her again, but she was resolute.

nIt was only after she hung up the call that she opened the webpage to check her results on her phone.

nQin Shuang was already waiting impatiently. She stretched her body and head out to look at Xue Xi’s phone. When the latter keyed in her examination ID number and clicked on the search button…

nQin Shuang’s irises converged. “The heck!”

n288 marks!

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nIs this a result that humans can get?!

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